Saturday, November 7, 2026
Despite kicking off to begin Friday’s Nassau Conference II football playoff matchup against neighboring Calhoun, visiting Mepham couldn’t have scripted a better start.
The Colts went three-and-out and gifted a safety just 50 seconds in. Junior quarterback Adam Erlichman then capped the fifth-seeded Pirates’ opening possession with a 1-yard touchdown run and the tone was set for Mepham’s rain-soaked 22-0 victory.
“We came in here feeling like we’re peaking at the right time,” Mepham head coach Tom Mazeika said. “We got the fast start we were looking for and the defense did the rest. We’ve been a defensive team the past three years and everyone we put out there played their hearts out.”
Seniors Vinny Ciro (9), Will Braun (7) and Nate Greene combined for 22 tackles to lead the shutout effort for the Pirates (4-5), who avenged a 25-19 overtime loss on the same field Sept. 18 and advanced to face No.2 Carey in the semifinals next Friday at Hofstra University.
“Getting to Hofstra is a goal for some schools, but for us it’s an expectation,” said Erlichman, who completed 14 of 17 passes for 175 yards a one touchdown. “Our coaches always prepare us well and we owe it all to them,” he added.
Fourth-seeded Calhoun (4-5) couldn’t capitalize on multiple trips inside the red zone and had a potential momentum-changing touchdown off a fumble recovery by junior Gianni Capizzi midway through the third quarter nullified by a penalty during the return.
“We had opportunities and I hate pointing out just one or two because there were plenty,” Calhoun head coach Nick Rawls said. “We still felt OK at halftime even though we were down two scores. We trailed at halftime the first time we played them. But today, we didn’t execute as well as they did.”
The best drive for the Colts came late in the second quarter with them trailing 8-0. Junior quarterback Jacob Fortin connected with senior Michael Teta for 27 yards and ran for a pair of first downs as they moved from their own 37 to the Mepham 10 before stalling on a fourth-and-5 incompletion.
The Pirates then went 90 yards in eight plays, striking paydirt on Erlichman’s 29-yard touchdown pass to senior Lucas Eagleston with 32 seconds left in the half and the lead swelled to 15-0. Senior Ryan McCabe (80 yards receiving) had three of his six catches on the drive.
“Adam did a great job reading the defense before the snap,” said Eagleston, who had three receptions for 75 yards. “I do whatever I can to help our team win.” he added. “I block on a lot plays but when the ball comes my way, I know I’ll be ready.”
Senior running back Paulie Genovese gained 33 of his 116 yards on Mepham’s final scoring drive that resulted in sophomore Jack Cloudman’s 1-yard touchdown run with 9:18 remaining.
“We have a resilient group,” Mazeika said. “We’ve had our share of ups and downs this season. We didn’t play great the last time we were here, but today we flipped the script.”
